Archive for January, 2011

“Tell your story before old age kills your plans
We all speed it up never losing a dance
Will we ever ever know where to stop
Feel a kiss when lips touch or never get enough”

It was the first line there that caught my attention, so naturally I looked up the lyrics cuz I couldn’t understand anything else. Pretty deep shit. The cadence with his words, I think are what I like most about the singer. That and his kinda funny/kinda really good sounding voice. This guy is not even what I like most about the song. It’s the fact that at the 8 second mark, I start tapping my foot to the beat and I keep my head nodding til 3:44. Maybe I slow down a lil when the strings come in and bring that peaceful serenity, but regardless, great fuckin beat/instrumental/music whatever you wanna call it. I’m pretty sure I’m very late with this one, but I’m trying to expand my horizons, and I just found it, and it’s been on repeat the past week, so here ya go.

I like this picture cuz it’s probably what I look like right now….creeping with my laptop in the dark. Anywho, might have to be in the right mindset to really feel this one. You know, that introspective shit’s not for everyone. Producer did a great job with their interpretation of Modest Mouse’s “Float On”

Damn, I didn’t know J. Cole had it like that. XV is definitely on the come up, and puts out some quality music, but J. Cole steals the show with his instrumental, which samples Smashing Pumpkins “To Forgive.” Good shit J. I gotta rediscover me some “Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness.” XV is another one you gotta take some time to listen to, sorry if you thrive on instant satisfaction only.

Another great mash up from the White Panda. Mash ups seem pretty simple, you just strip the vocals from one song, and add em to the beat of another. But a lot of mash ups sound like shit. It takes some skill, and a lot of creativity to make it work well. The White Panda has pretty much perfected the craft. The Hood Internet is solid too, but these guys are my favorite by far. The first mix I heard from them was Ice Chrome Paint Job, followed em ever since. As part of the Sunday Bundle, I’ve included some of my favorite tracks over the past year and a half for you to get acquainted with.

I don’t know who I’m feelin more here, producer Smiles Davis or this Tabi Bonney dude rhyming. Im gonna have to take a closer listen to this mixtape they got called “Postcards from Abroud.” Sounds pretty good so far.

Llody Banks’ Hunger For More 2 has been out for some time now, but this is still me shit. Em kills it as usual. My admiration for Marshall Mathers has never been higher ever since Recovery dropped. I couldn’t stand dude back in the day. I mean, his flow was always nasty but I hated the bullshit he would rap about. I like the transformation Em. Banks comes hard as fuck, too.

Soulful story teller Jay Electronica let’s the mic have it here on this one. Saw this dude in a small venue a couple years back. Of course he wasn’t headlining, that would be my boy Nasir. Loved it. Makes sense, though. They both seem to “kick knowledge” if you know what I mean. Also, they kinda just go off without any flow parameters and without ever slowing down (see Nas – Queens Get The Money).

Split second goes over Kleerup “Until We Bleed.” Although I’m not quite sure what the original is actually saying, I get kind of a tragic/eternal love type vibe from it. So Split Second takes the beat and spits their own love story, just in more words. I really like the beat here and always like Lykke.

Wiz Khalifa’s attempt at auto-tune. Eh, its actually not as bad as that sounds. I like a lot of what I hear from Wiz. Content isn’t that expansive, but I got a feeling that won’t stop him from making several hits in the near future.

This Philly shit is pretty nasty. Young Chris and Black Thought always deliver, but a couple verses I could do without here. The beat is nasty though, so I’m not mad at 8 minutes of that Red Cafe “Hottest in the Hood” shit.

Tracy Morgan was on TNT for the pregame of the Knicks-Heat game last night. Charles and Kenny were discussing which female they prefer (?), Palin or Tina Fey. When Tracy was asked for his opinion, he had this to say; “Yo, let me tell you something about Sarah Palin. She’s good masturbation material.” Followed by Ernie’s response, “I want to thank Tracy Morgan for stopping by.” Wow. That’s hilarious. I guess Tracy has a thing for librarians….Watch the video and how embarrassed Charles gets after he says that. Dude’s face turns pink. You’re a baaaaad man, Charles.

Derrick Rose. Rick Reilly would call that a complete sentence. Because only 3 years ago, he was in the same discussion as Micheal Beasley and OJ Mayo. After a Rookie of Year award in his first NBA season, an All Star bid in his second, he is now starting for what is easily one of the most loaded All Star lineups in the history of the NBA, all while some consider him to be the front runner for MVP at the halfway mark of the season. I can’t sit here and tell you with a straight face that I knew this was coming….at least not this fast. But I did see something in Derrick that you don’t see in many professional athletes. I can’t pin it on one attribute. It’s just everything this kid is about. His drive, his passion, his work ethic, his desire to win, his desire to improve, his humility, his snarl, all that shit. Those are just the intangibles. But I don’t have time to get into all the incredible things one can witness this kid do on the basketball court that make him one of the best in the league. Derrick Rose WILL bring the Bulls back to the promise land, and it may be a lot sooner than everyone thought. In the words of Stacey King, “This is why this kid’s special, this kid is special.”

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